Page 23 of The Magical Tea Shop

Jaxon strolled up beside her. She rolled down her window.

He studied her face for a moment. “You okay?”

She sought to appear composed and not flustered. “Fine. Thanks for checking.” She watched Joel whipping around the corner toward Endeavor Street.

She might have said more until Jaxon gave a nod and strode off. She sat a moment watching his long strides eat up the distance toward Main. He had just done the friend thing, checking on her. She needed to accept that was all they had, all he wanted. She gripped the steering wheel, seriously considering canceling on Rob tomorrow, but that would be rude. She gave a determined sigh. She would follow through. Roman and Joel had been a bust, and Jaxon wasn’t interested.

Perhaps Rob would surprise her and be the guy she could build a relationship with.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Surely it would be better than sitting home amidst her herb garden, clipping bits of chamomile, mint, and rose hips to make a new tea blend. Well, except that she enjoyed creating new tea blends a whole lot more than the dating game.

Chapter Nine

Ivy usually closedshop every Sunday and Monday. Hollister’s Bakery, of course, was open every day. Holly thrived on success, so she opened early on Sunday for faithful churchgoers to pick up their favorite fellowship doughnuts, and on Monday for office staff to bring in Danishes for their Monday morning meetings. But Ivy needed time to recharge. She only had herself to run the business. The tea shop was her labor of love. After opening up on Sunday to accommodate her many customers, she needed at least one day off. But even though her sign read closed, she spent the day transposing more family recipes and shopping for next week’s supplies.

She stopped into Throckmorton Grocery for her ingredients.

Shop local. Shop Hazard.

Ivy, ever loyal, ascribed to her small-town motto even when it increased her business expenses. Holly’s supplies, of course, were delivered from a large supermarket in Newport, but Ivy loved Seymour’s corner market. It stocked everything she needed with quality and style.

Seymour leaned in and glanced over his shoulder before his bushy white brows drew together. He spoke conspiratorially, “How is your project working out?” His voice quavered, little more than an awed whisper.

Ivy released a soft huff. This was another reason she loved to shop here. She was understood. “Terrible. Jaxon shared his cookies with all his teammates.”

Seymour puffed out his cheeks and pushed his glasses up his nose to peer down at her. “It might be what fate intended.”

Ivy blinked at his unforeseen response. “What do I do about his teammates’ sudden devotion?”

“Why is that a problem?”

“You saw how they all came into the tea shop. Business is booming, and I’ve been on two dates already, but…” Ivy shrugged, unwilling to speak ill of her lackluster dates.

“It’s working.” Seymour nodded, his white hair flopping with the motion.

“But Jaxon didn’t eat any of the cookies.”

“The Hazard blessing isn’t necessarily what one expects. That’s what makes it wonderful.”

Priscilla Whitaker walked in, a woven, Maplewood shopping basket on her arm.

Ivy leaned closer to Seymour to keep their conversation private. “It isn’t working.”

He responded in a loud whisper, “Sounds to me like it’s working perfectly.”

Ivy leaned in closer, reluctant to be overheard by Priscilla. “But…shouldn’t I bake another batch of cookies?”

“You mean those cookies Alden can’t stop raving about?” said Priscilla. Ivy jumped at her caustic tone and caught her smirk as she turned to face her high school nemesis.

“Whatever you put in them has my son tripping over himself to be near you. I never would’ve suspected that the girl who got pantsed at the homecoming rally would be my son’s first crush.”

Ivy barely kept back an eye roll. It was so like Priscilla to bring that up, especially since Ivy suspected Priscilla had orchestrated the whole thing. She’d retained numerous sycophants who would’ve done anything to impress Hazard High’s head cheerleader.

With that parting shot and a low snicker, Priscilla sashayed away toward the cake mix aisle.

Seymour shook his head, causing his white hair to wave with the motion and lowered his voice. He motioned to Ivy to move closer and, finally keeping his voice down, said, “More cookies might be dangerous. Maybe you aren’t meant for Jaxon. I bet you’ll find your true love with a different Rebel.”

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